A new antidote for snow days: 'e-learning days'

• Ohio%2C Illinois and West Virginia among states incorporating e-learning on snow days
• E-learning days can meet state class-time requirements
• With e-learning%2C teachers are available to provide assistance

For a small but growing number of students across the country, the words snow day no longer necessarily mean a day of sleeping late and goofing off.

Some schools in at least five states — Ohio, Illinois, West Virginia, Indiana and Pennsylvania — are allowing "e-learning days."

"We see that the potential is there for this to grow," said Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators. "Today, not many schools are doing it. In 10 years, that number will change dramatically. Learning will eventually be able to take place anywhere — not just inside a school building."

Although the system is not perfect, it's better than the alternative, Domenech said.

"The drawback is, of course, there will never be a substitute for being with a teacher who can be directing the learning process, answering questions, motivating students, and doing all the things teachers do," he said. "But if the difference between that is no school at all, then this definitely represents a huge advantage."

In Ohio, most school districts have already maxed out the five inclement weather days. A state law passed in 2011 permits them to redefine three of their "calamity" days as e-learning days.

To meet state class-time requirements and avoid having to subtract time from summer vacation, Ohio schools have the option to submit a lesson plan to the Ohio Department of Education outlining what each e-learning day would look like.

Of the state's 614 regular school districts, 156 have submitted plans for e-learning days, said John Charlton, associate director of communication with the Ohio Department of Education.

One of them, Fort Recovery Local Schools, has had an e-learning plan in place for several years, but this is the first time the district has had to use it.

"This has been a very, very challenging winter, and the weather has caused us to miss more days of instruction than we usually have to," Superintendent Shelly Vaughn said. "Five is average, we're up to nine this year."

E-learning days make more sense than tacking days on to the end of the year, she said.

"We want to have the most instruction time we possibly can before we take achievement tests each spring and this would allow us to do that," Vaughn said. "When it's nice out and the achievement tests are over, it's hard to keep kids focused. Kids were already cooped up at home with nothing to do. They were using their time more wisely than they would be in June."

How's it work? Teachers post readings, videos and worksheets — designed to be completed independently — online for students.

The pupils had two weeks to turn in the assignments, in the case of a power outage or other weather-related obstacle. Much of the coursework was submitted via Google Apps, so teachers could provide immediate feedback. Additionally, teachers checked their e-mails regularly to provide assistance.

"It was rigorous. An e-day of instruction was designed to replace a full day of instruction with 40-50 minute class periods," Vaughn said. "When they got back to school, students told me 'That was a lot of work, I think it was more than being in school.' And I took that as a compliment."

E-learning has been implemented in other snow-ravaged states as well.

The Maconaquah School Corp. in Indiana held its first e-learning day because of snow Wednesday. Because all students in second through 12th grades are provided with laptops by the school district, kids are accustomed to completing their work online — and their schools kept track of their progress.

"We have a mobile filter on all the devices so we can monitor Internet activity and place the same type of restrictions on [websites] they can get to as if they were at school," said Judy Off, director of technology. "They're used to doing their work on these devices, the only difference is they're doing it at home instead of at school."

Craig Jernagan, Maconaquah Middle School principal, has no doubt about the effectiveness of e-learning days.

"We are providing meaningful instruction, and I can say that because I see my two children at home doing it," Jernagan said.

At Bishop Donahue High School in West Virginia, where students have missed 11 days, Principal Tom Wise said that what they call "cyber-days" have had a positive effect on learning during the extreme weather — and they've kept Wise from having to extend school into summer vacation, as well.

"We're trying to keep the educational process going instead of coming to an abrupt stop," Wise said. "If we have to extend the school year, we will, but this is a viable alternative for the harsh winter."

A private school in Illinois, Gibault Catholic High School, followed suit. Principal Russ Hart said schools from Springfield to St. Louis have contacted him about potentially implementing e-learning days on their campuses.

"I'm sure other schools are going to do this, which I would highly encourage," Hart said. "They were surprised our kids were buying into it, knowing that their friends were sleeping in all day. At the beginning, for our students, they were a little apprehensive about giving up that romanticized idea of a snow day where they can sleep in and drink hot chocolate and get to have fun and sled. But then, once they learned how to manage the day, I think they have completely accepted it."